Very disappointed in myself.......

Hi Everyone,

I gained 6 pounds since November 11th. I thought I did well for Thanksgiving. Apparently I have not since 3 pounds have been added since Wednesday this week. Now I know that it has to be mostly water. My 'brined turkey" which tastes so good is loaded in sodium but there were so many violations that I don't even want to speak of them here. Made a sugar free pumpkin pie. Ate some of that. Sweet potato casserole. Yup some of that too. 2 glasses of wine. Guess I just wanted to feel somewhat normal but the realization is that I do not have a normal metabolism. :( Sad that I have to go back to liquids and meat only just to get where I was 2 weeks ago. Tired of the Atkins diet, not being able to have a piece of fruit or eat anything that isn't low carb. Just feeling sorry for myself.......I will get over it because I am determined to get to goal.

babsinga,

Welcome to the club! None of us are perfect in very way. You will learn, just as all who had the surgery years ago. You have control again. You realize what was wrong..take the steps to get back on the horse!

Consider...next time, salt that turkey and then rinse it well. use a meat tenderizer that has no MSG, and papin instead of so much salt, use poultry seasonings..... bake the sweet potatoes, hold the regular brown sugar try one of the brown sugar subs and leave off the marshmellows... Yep I ate some of that too.. and it hurt my belly already for 3 days... blood sugar has been everywhere, mostly low.. so back to rice and drytoast and ice water today.My gasritis has returned as well.

Be sure to take in small amonts of carbs with every protein, so your body can use the protein properly. these are the things that work for me. avoid all colas, drinks excep****er, maybe with a slice of orange or wedge of lemon..no sugar, stevia is my only tolerated sweetner, (except sugar.. which I normally use sparingly.)

also increase your exercise., not drastically, just slow increase.. try to take your exercise time and break it to three sections... one very beginning of day, one mid day, and one last thing of the night..( I use isometrics at night, and do them after in bed...tightening and relaxing each group of muscles in succession over 10 min.) drink lots of ice water.

..Be happy, look at how far you have come...

Attitude is everything.Stress will prevent you from loosing weight by changing the cortizol levels.

Take care of yourself.

Consider what you did that was right. You got your desert in a sugar free pumpkin pie, if was loaded with vitamin A.

"Be sure to take in small amonts of carbs with every protein, so your body can use the protein properly. "

Would you mind developing your thought a bit? I've never heard this line of reasoning. Are there medical journals and such that advise such a way of eating? Also what is the range of carbs that would qualify for a "small amount"?.

I am intrigued.

Amy R,

This was in the information we were given post op... thru the Memphis obesity clinic. We were part of the study that UT did on the genome that found the gene that predisposes one to obesity.(date of study was 1994) . I am 23 years post op.The Surgeon that did my surgery literally co-wrote the book on the admistering of TPN..(providing all nutrition thru IV, for those unable to consume sufficient quanities of food due to illness or injury)Dr George Cowan,Jr .

This is supported by my Med-surgical textbook(Mosby 2000) in the guidelines for management of a person who has a protein deficit. It reads .." Management of protein deficit includes providing high carbohydrate, high protein diet and necessary protein supplements. If the patient can not meet the needs for protein orally, parenteral nutrition may be used."

I am not sure the full protein digestion and all enzyme production is fully understood, but the principals remain that enzymes and energy are required for all digestion.

A high protein diet comes with some risks, among them kidney failure. In order to break up the risk, initiate and maintain weight loss Both Mom and I continued with the diet guidelines we were given @ the time of our surgery. ... Our CHO's was supposed to be limited, but constistently above 30...daily intake...

..I was placed on a 90 Gm Protein and 40-70 Gram carb(CHO) diet. I was told to keep it as low as possible at first, due to food fatigue with proteins. That I would need to fine tune my diet to my tolerance... and also as weight loss was almost complete to increase or slow weight loss. I had glucose intolerance/resistance and my blood sugars were really fragile, (serious drops)..FBS below 50 were routine, 1 hr post paradial would be 100, then drop again, to near 70 by the second hour after a meal.

.My tolerance for carbs was one to 1.5 ADA servings per meal, more than that would bottom out my sugars.... after surgery this was not an issue but before surgery It was extremely tough, to get enough carbs to keep sugars up, but not so much that my insulin would over produce.(carbs digest much quicker than protein-and are used to elevate very low sugars in combination with a protein serving)

Note, this is not because of my surgery, but was one of the reasons I was approved for Bariatric surgery. Dealing with low blood sugars is a blessed thing, for it means I am not diabetic from a pancreas that no longer produces adequate amounts. Keeping my insulin production leveled, has extended my time before I follow in parents and grandparents footstes of diabetes related illness. Now i take supplements to boost and level my insulin production intermittently.

What I have tried to do, when my pouch volume was extremely limited.(2-4 ounces).., that balances my blood sugar, has been to consume ratio of 2 ounces of meat and ratio of 3/4-1 ounce of a carb... sweet peas, carrots,potato OR bread.

On a normal day, My pouch now is about 6 ounces @ capacity, my protein goal for each meal is 28 grams/meal with around 10gm of carbs. Generally that is a good place for me. I consume very little but ice water between meals. i often add an ounce of milk to my coffee in the morning for a boost. I rarely drink any juice, ..and no more than 2- 3 ounces of juice.and i dilute with water half and half..

My Mom also had the same surgery , but had a different goal, of 100 Gm Protein and 50 Gms carb.Her metabolism was very low was less than 1/3 of what it should have been, according to the metabolism study done before surgery.(just so you know that goals were set individually by the surgeon, according to our metabolism.)

Hope this helps. ..to define a small amount and the rationale behind my statement.

Thank you. Interesting.

I notice that the amount of carbs you are using with your protein is basically minuscule, which paints a very different picture than the one I thought I saw.

Amy R.

Glad I could clarify... I just have little tolerance for carbs, but am hyper-aware that they are considered necessary in some amount. Food fatigue/protein fatigue is the hardest thing to get past. For those on a high protein diet as most here are, it can be a most difficult obstacle.

"Be sure to take in small amounts of carbs with every protein, so your body can use the protein properly."

Um, no? Unless you have access to some kind of published, peer-reviewed research I haven't seen in my perusal of literally hundreds of such studies...

Audrey

Audrey,

I did not dream this up.

I don't have time( but glad you do- have time for them) for reviews and study's I have done been in one(my own) for many years. I know small amounts of carbs with my protein make it go down easier, and stabilize MY sugars.It works for me.I was hypoglycemic for almost 15 years before i had my surgery.It took me a while to figure it out.

Look this up for yourself, You don't have to take my word for it... here's where.. (MOSBY Medical-surgical nursing 6th edition year 2000).. To build protein in a patient who is protein deficient, {look just above table 16-11, page 349, next to last paragraph.. also the Make -up of TPN is discussed on page 987.} call for a High carbohydrate and High protein diet with additional protein supplements. It also notes that some people may not be able to consume sufficient quantities and may require TPN.

...I know it does not say it " helps digestion of protein", but consider what /where the amino acids and the digestive enzymes come from? What are they made from? Consider. Just think...If it was UN-necessary would Mosby say it was needed to build protein?

I'm sorry that you are struggling. The holidays are a tough time for all of us and we just have to get back on track and follow the rules. Lots of fluids and protein! Hang in there!

I fell off the wagon a few weeks ago its hard to get back on up. Just take this day by day. Why liquids just start over, just my opinion. I started back and my weight came right back into my comfie ball park. Good Luck every day is a new day hang in there